Comparing stylesheets

[David]

I've got a 50k main.css file that's referenced by a load of sites.
Each of these sites also has a site.css file that modifies certain
styles defined in main.css. Changing the colour of borders, boxes etc,
as well as defining certain site specific styles. site.css is small
and easy to understand, and the only bit that can be edited by the
masses.

That's the theory. The practice is that there are now 4 sites going
live
in a week where some muppet who claims to understand css has just
copied
main.css in chunks, renamed it site.css, tweaked some bits and added
more, without deleting the inherited styles (*nice full explanation
below). It all works fine, but it means each site's site.css is now
about 60k, when it's meant to be nice and neat and about 10/20k.

So, to the question:
What tools do people out there use that could help me? Is there any
tool that can compare declarations across multiple stylesheets to
prevent me from sitting down and laboriously going through every style
declaration in site.css to check if it's redundant or not? 4 times
over? I've had a look at Topstyle and it doesn't seem to perform this
function, which I find surprising. Am I being stupid?

diff/sed/awk etc aren't options, btw...(I ain't a unix god)


*Crystal clear explanation:
in main.css there is this statement:

A.backtotop:lin k, A.backtotop:vis ited {
float:right;
margin-top:5px;
margin-right:10px;
margin-left:7px;
padding-left:10px;
font-size:70%;
color:#fff;
background:url( arrow_white_up. gif) 0 0.6em no-repeat;
}
A.backtotop:hov er {color:#fff;}
In site.css there is this statement:

A.backtotop:lin k, A.backtotop:vis ited {
float:right;
margin-top:5px;
margin-right:0;
margin-left:7px;
padding-left:10px;
font-size:70%;
text-decoration:none ;
color:#000;
background:url( arrow_black_up. gif) 0 0.6em no-repeat;
}
A.backtotop:hov er {text-decoration:unde rline; }
site.css doesn't need those duplicate declarations, so that the
declaration in site.css *should* read:

A.backtotop:lin k, A.backtotop:vis ited {
margin-right:0;
text-decoration:none ;
color:#000;
background:url( arrow_black_up. gif) 0 0.6em no-repeat;
}
A.backtotop:hov er {text-decoration:unde rline; }
But, like, there's 240k of this stuff...

[Chris Morris]

da********@yaho o.co.uk (David) writes:

"Harlan Messinger" <h.*********@co mcast.net> wrote:

[back to top links]

As a user, have you ever used one of them?

Yes, frequently.

Yeah, I agree. Use them all the time and find them quite useful.
Especially useful when using lynx/links,

Really? In those browsers I find it far quicker to hit home on the
keyboard than to press up/down a few times to get to the back to top
link and then press return.

--
Chris

[Harlan Messinger]

Neal <ne*****@yahoo. com> wrote:

On 19 Oct 2004 16:43:25 -0700, David <da********@yah oo.co.uk> wrote:

Neal <ne*****@yahoo. com> wrote in message
news:<op******* *******@news.in dividual.net>.. .

_Go to top_

Now, I'm thinking this link will merely bring me to the starting point I
was at up the page a bit, which as far as I knew was the top. In fact,
it
will bring me to a region of the page I don't even know existed.

Yes. "top of page" would be more descriptive link text.

But that still doesn't avoid the problem that as far as I knew, I was
already at the top of the page. Why click it? I just read what was there.

These links are especially useful on pages that begin with a large
number down-links. FAQs, for example. They simplify the pattern of
jumping down to one piece of information of interest and then
returning to the list of links.

Best to use content-related link text rather than position-related.

--
Harlan Messinger
Remove the first dot from my e-mail address.
Veuillez ôter le premier point de mon adresse de courriel.

[David]

Chris Morris <c.********@dur ham.ac.uk> wrote in message news:<87******* *****@dinopsis. dur.ac.uk>...

Yeah, I agree. Use them all the time and find them quite useful.
Especially useful when using lynx/links,

Really? In those browsers I find it far quicker to hit home on the
keyboard than to press up/down a few times to get to the back to top
link and then press return.

You know, I can honestly say that until I read this thread, I had *no
idea* that the home button took you to the top of a page. I've been
building websites since 1996.

<makes sudden mental leap />

....and the end button takes you to the bottom! Excellent.

<repeatedly mashes head into desk />

[Neal]

On Wed, 20 Oct 2004 07:34:00 -0400, Harlan Messinger
<hm************ *******@comcast .net> wrote:

Neal <ne*****@yahoo. com> wrote:

Yes. "top of page" would be more descriptive link text.

But that still doesn't avoid the problem that as far as I knew, I was
already at the top of the page. Why click it? I just read what was
there.

These links are especially useful on pages that begin with a large
number down-links. FAQs, for example. They simplify the pattern of
jumping down to one piece of information of interest and then
returning to the list of links.

Yes, but we're not arguing about the same thing. The link is a good idea.
Calling it "top" is not. It's the link text "top" that is ambiguous. As I
said,

Best to use content-related link text rather than position-related.

Name the link for the content it brings you to, not the geographical place
it goes. All goes back to not mentioning the mechanics, semantics, good
link text, etc.

[Harlan Messinger]

"David" <da********@yah oo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:99******** *************** ***@posting.goo gle.com...

Chris Morris <c.********@dur ham.ac.uk> wrote in message

news:<87******* *****@dinopsis. dur.ac.uk>...

Yeah, I agree. Use them all the time and find them quite useful.
Especially useful when using lynx/links,

Really? In those browsers I find it far quicker to hit home on the
keyboard than to press up/down a few times to get to the back to top
link and then press return.

You know, I can honestly say that until I read this thread, I had *no
idea* that the home button took you to the top of a page. I've been
building websites since 1996.

<makes sudden mental leap />

...and the end button takes you to the bottom! Excellent.

<repeatedly mashes head into desk />

Except that I can't figure out how to get the keys to work consistently in
Firefox. I know, RTFM, but I haven't done that yet.

[Lauri Raittila]

David wrote;

Chris Morris:

Yeah, I agree. Use them all the time and find them quite useful.
Especially useful when using lynx/links,
Really? In those browsers I find it far quicker to hit home on the
keyboard than to press up/down a few times to get to the back to top
link and then press return.

You know, I can honestly say that until I read this thread, I had *no
idea* that the home button took you to the top of a page. I've been
building websites since 1996.

That is your problem - you have been testing in lynx, but not
really using it. Just like Chris, who haven't enabled quick go etc
function to follow link using numbers, instead of using clumsy arrows...
(makes lynx usability better than opera)
--
Lauri Raittila <http://www.iki.fi/lr> <http://www.iki.fi/zwak/fonts>